Tornado

Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if AMRAAM has been equipped on Tornado F3 flying on operations. [62237]

Dr. Moonie:
There are currently no Tornado F3 aircraft equipped with the advanced medium range air-to-air missile flying on operations.

Tanks

Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many Challenger 2 tanks are allocated to each tank regiment in the British Army; and how many are off-road in each case; [62223]

(2) how many Scimitars there are in the British Army; and how many are off-road; [62225]

(3) how many Warrior armoured personnel carriers are allocated to each armoured infantry regiment in the British Army; and how many are off-road in each case. [62224]

Mr. Ingram:
The numbers of Challenger 2 tanks and Warrior armoured personnel carriers allocated to tank and armoured infantry regiments in the British Army and their availability are shown in the tables.

19 Jun 2002 : Column 337W

Challenger 2

Regiment

Allocated

Not fully operational

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards

48

9

2nd Royal Tank Regiment

44

8

The Royal Dragoon Guards

44

16

The Queen's Royal Hussars

30

13

The Queen's Royal Lancers

54

18

The King's Royal Hussars

44

0

Total

264

64

Warrior

Battalion (Bn)

Allocated

Not fully operational

1st Bn The Irish Guards

53

7

1st Bn The Duke of Wellington's Regiment

44

22

1st Bn The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers

54

3

1st Bn The Black Watch

53

13

1st Bn The Royal Regiment of Wales

18

0

1st Bn The Light Infantry

35

8

1st Bn The Staffordshire Regiment

39

3

1st Bn The King's Regiment

31

8

1st Bn The Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment

39

14

Total

366

78

The information is recorded quarterly and the figures represent the position as at 31 March 2002.

As at 31 March 2002, 64 of the 316 Scimitars in the British Army were reported not to be fully operational.

The overall totals for vehicle types are broadly in line with availability targets and, as shown in the following table, vehicle availability has improved significantly, particularly in the case of the Challenger 2, since the last return in December last year.

Equipment type

Challenger 2

Warrior

Scimitars

Total fleet

264

366

316

% operational 31 December 2001

62

72

83

% operational 31 March 2002

76

79

80

% target availability

80

75

70

In addition, it should be noted that if any of the units were required to deploy on operations, any shortfalls would be made good to ensure that the units deployed with a full complement of vehicles.

Fighter Combat Training

Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with which foreign aircraft types RAF and Fleet Air Arm pilots have participated in fighter combat training in the past 24 months. [62240]

Mr. Ingram:
The following list details the foreign aircraft types with which RAF and Fleet Air Arm pilots have participated in fighter combat training in the past 24 months:

Tornado F3, PA200

BAe Hawk, Hawk 200

Sepecat Jaguar

Dassault Mirage F1, Mirage 2000

19 Jun 2002 : Column 338W

Dassault Super Etendard

Douglas A-4K Skyhawk

General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon

Grumman F-14 Tomcat

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter

McDonnell Douglas AV8B Harrier II

McDonnell Douglas F-15, F-15C, F-15E Eagle

McDonnell Douglas F-18, CF-18 Hornet

Mig-29

North American F4 Phantom

Northrop F5 Freedom Fighter

Saab Viggen

Sukhoi Su-22.

Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which RAF armed Fleet Air Arm squadrons have participated in fighter combat training exercises with overseas air forces in the past 24 months. [62239]

Mr. Ingram:
The following table details the fast jet squadrons that have participated in fighter combat training exercises in the past 24 months:

Aircraft type

Squadron number

Tornado F3

11, 25, 43, 111

Tornado GR1/4

2, 9, 12, 13, 14, 31, 617

Harrier GR7

1, 3, 4

Harrier FA2

800, 801, 899

Jaguar

6, 41, 54

Educational Allowances

Mr. Gray:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what was the uptake of individual educational allowances in each year since 1997; [62466]

(2) what categories of educational opportunity the IEA has been used for since 1997; [62338]

(3) what would be the total cost of individual educational allowances if each serviceman made use of it; [62339]

(4) what the value is to an individual serviceman of the individual education allowance; [62337]

(5) if he will make a statement about individual educational allowances for the armed services. [62467]

Mr. Ingram:
I assume that the hon. Member is referring to what is now known as the learning credits scheme. This scheme comprises two forms of allowance: standard learning credits and enhanced learning credits.

The standard learning credits scheme (SLC) was launched on 1 April 1999 and operates on similar lines to the individual refund scheme (IRS) it replaced, but its value, £175 per year, is 25 per cent. higher. Individuals must contribute at least 20 per cent. of the cost of any learning for which it is claimed. The SLC can, therefore, fund up to 80 per cent. of the cost of learning. This 80/20 split encourages development of individual understanding and buy-in to the learning process.

19 Jun 2002 : Column 339W

Both the SLC and the IRS which preceded it are applicable to a wide range of learning purposes in support of an individual's personal development. The only limitation is that the learning must have a benefit to the services, but, in practice, this still allows almost all forms of development. A representative list of the range of courses includes:

GCSEe.g. Maths, English, Psychology, Physics, Accounting, Geography

A-Levele.g. Law, Sociology, Economics

AS LevelsFrench

OU modules

Degrees

City and Guilds teaching certificates for basic skills

Book keeping and accounts

Business studies

Accounting

Counselling

Sports therapy

Human physiology and health

NVQs of all types

Language training

Computer courses

European computer driving licence

Microsoft Office user specialist

IT practitioner courses

C++ programming

Windows 2000 networking

Microsoft Project.

The uptake of IRS/SLC since 1997 for the armed forces is shown in the table.

FY

Number of claimants

Trained strength of armed forces

Claimants as a percentage of trained strength

199798

(1)8,297

(2)97,523

8.5

199899

11,580

192,155

6

19992000

12,773

189,574

6.7

200001

21,779

187,874

11.6

200102

24,550

186,610

13.2

(1) Army figures unavailable.

(2) Excludes Army.

The second part of learning credits, which will be known as enhanced learning credits (ELC), complements the SLC scheme and is due to be launched on 1 April 2004. This is an imaginative and large-scale initiative to provide partial funding for personnel wishing to undertake academic or vocational education for their own personal development. ELC will enable personnel to access a considerably higher level of sponsorship than SLC and is available for a maximum of three claims (one in each of three separate years which need not be consecutive) during a service person's career and for up to 10 years after leaving the service.

The ELC scheme requires a minimum period of service in order to qualify and there are two levels of claim depending on length of service. The initial qualification period is four years' service after which an individual can claim the lower tier level of funding (£1,000 pa). A further four years' service allows access to the higher tier of

19 Jun 2002 : Column 340W

funding (£2,000 pa). As with the SLC scheme, an individual must show commitment to learning by funding at least 20 per cent. of the overall cost.

The enhanced learning credit scheme will enable the individual to make substantial plans for self improvement in a coherent and long-term fashion and will also encourage employing officers to factor major lifelong learning activities into a subordinate's personal development plan. This will have a positive effect on retention of personnel who wish to lay the foundations for success in their second career while maximising their military potential.

Based on the strength of the armed forces on 1 April 2002 (204,686) and the maximum available credit (£175) the total cost of SLC if every service person were to apply would be some £36 million. However, this does not take account of personnel on operations or already in intensive training who would be unlikely to claim; moreover, it does not reflect the historical take-up of the SLC scheme. Taking this into account, and using the latest figures in the table, a more realistic total cost would be some £4 million.